In November and December 2024, I set out on an epic journey. I walked 200 miles to trace one of the most romantic, often overlooked stories of British history: The Eleanor Crosses.

But what are the Eleanor Crosses? On 28th November 1290, one of the most formidable queens of the medieval world, Eleanor of Castile, died in a village called Harby, near Lincoln. Afterwards, her body was taken to Lincoln, embalmed, and then transported to London, passing through towns such as Grantham, Stamford, Stony Stratford, St Albans, and eventually buried at Westminster Abbey.

Her husband, King Edward I, was so grief stricken at the loss of his beloved wife he commemorated this journey by building 12 stone monuments - the Eleanor Crosses - along the way. The final one was Charing Cross.

My book is a write up of my journey, tracing this incredible history. Along the way I meet artists, stonemasons, deans, schoolchildren, roofers, all united by one thing: the part they play in keeping Eleanor’s legacy alive.

So this is a story of a formidable medieval queen, an incredible love story, a bygone medieval age, the long sweep of English history, where the crosses had extraordinary and surprising afterlives, and built a legacy which is very much alive to this day.

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